During the Clinton Presidency, a directive was issued to create a group within the Department of Defense (DoD) that was responsible for developing and managing DoD Counterintelligence (CI) programs and functions. Projections at the time forecasted an office with a maximum of 50 government personnel. Then the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked on September 11, 2001.

When Work Systems Affiliates was contacted in the summer of 2002, this DoD group had erupted into an operation of approximately 350 personnel, both government and civilian. (Due to a confusing contracting process, the actual number was not known.) Spending, personnel changes, and other critical decisions were not based on organizational priorities but rather on the needs of the individual managers with the most visibility. The infrastructure was not sufficient to support the mission and the 9/11 crisis. Key customers within the Pentagon and the DoD were very frustrated and threatening to withdraw support.

Through an intense, enterprise-wide effort we were able to assist management in quickly getting control of an operation that was clearly out of control and bring a disciplined approach to decision making and overall management. The web-like matrix management system was simplified and redrawn. The roles and responsibilities of the two key groups, Analysts and Technical Specialists, were reorganized to more rapidly address immediate and specific terrorist threats. Budget and decision making processes were mapped to fit the needs of a rapidly growing global counterintelligence operation.